How refreshing. You know, to get a break from the family portraits where everyone is wearing white tops and khakis. I mean there's nothing really wrong with that. But cameras are so good at capturing color. I like color. That's all I'm gonna say about that. So, factor in color, and a family that just has a great time together and here is what you get.

As much as photography is about composition, lighting, technique, all of that is for naught if you don't have a beautiful subject to photograph. That's one of the reasons that I enjoy family portraits. What's more worthy of capturing than a beautiful family and all that the institution of family represents; love, commitment, joy, struggle, victory, love (I meant to do that). So with that in mind here are my long time friends and please contact me for booking your next family photos.

I am a Floridian, a cracker. Many people don't know that the term "cracker" came from the crack of the whip of the early Florida cowboys. Many people don't know that there are cowboys (and cowgirls) in Florida, or that Florida is always 1 or 2 in cattle production in the country, or that the largest cattle ranch in the country is in Florida, or that there is great hunting in Florida, or for that matter that there are animals in Florida other than a certain mouse that seems to be so popular. A little bitter? Maybe. Oh wait this is a photography blog.

So I have been to places in the country and outside the country that are beautiful. Purple mountains, flowing rivers, you get the point. But there is a rugged beauty to Florida once you get away from beaches and talking rodents. Our friends lived on this beautiful property in Melbourne.

This is such a great family. Thankful to be friends with them. Happy to capture these senior photos for them.

Wow it's been a long time since posting. Life has been . . . well . . . interesting. So, now 4 1/2 months into being laid off I am trying to catch up on the photography that I've been doing. This was a great session with a great family. They had family in town and it was great to capture the generations.

We started working inside the house. I looked around and was drawn to the light in the kitchen. The sun was high and it was pouring soft light in through the windows in the dining room to the right and from the sliders leading to the porch to the left. I had them turn on the recessed lighting and hanging lights. Then I added 2 strobes. One for key light on the subjects and one to fill in some dark areas behind and to the left. This was definitely an exercise in balancing flash and ambient light. I love the pose above leaning on the kitchen counters.

Then we moved outside and dealt with the heat and high sun raining in through the oaks. But we got some fun shots with natural Florida as the backdrop.

We did a lot of different things here in terms of lighting. My gear for this was one strobe in a softbox on a boom stand with a sandbag for balance. I used it for a key light above balanced with backlight provided by the Lord. This softbox has become my goto modifier outdoors primarily because it handles the wind much better than an umbrella.

I didn't always use it. Above is just the backlight. The subjects face is in shadow and the background is allowed to blow out.

Here is a similar shot but I brought the softbox in to add some directional key light to her face. You can see the shadows from her nose.

I like to use different perspectives as well. Above is taken from atop the bench that you will see below. The wood of the pier makes and interesting background with great texture.

There's the bench above.

Her best friend since 3 years old just happened to be at the same park at the same time getting her senior portraits done as well so we took some of them together.

This one is under a gazebo with the softbox for key light and crouching until the sun just peaked under the overhang.

I love the background here.

And one of my favorites.

I hope she is blessed as she graduates into an exciting new phase of life.